The contemporary world has become so unravelled that the Congress of the United States, with nothing better to do, has felt the necessity of passing a Defense of Marriage Act. We are all being treated to daily media coverage of the same-sex marriages and programming which would make the devil blush. We are being told that the weird is just fine. Will the children of the man-women unions see this deviation as normal? Some critics blame society's depravation on the legions of spent politicians wreaking havoc on the country and perhaps they are not wrong. But maybe, just maybe, society in the main has had enough and is at last fighting back against the forces tying to intimidate it. This book looks at laws and actions being taken at the federal level to right a ship gone very wrong.

Book questions the government's right to pay benefits to married couples. "Same Sex Marriage Rights Issue: The Issue Is Not The Problem" shows how all singles, not just the LGBT community, are discriminated against. The same sex marriage rights issue reaches into the foundation of the Constitution and it reaches into the heart of the spiritual canons of the three major religion in America to expose government discrimination against its own citizens. Perkins says, "I am confident that regardless of where you stand on the same sex marriage rights issue, whether you agree or disagree, I think you will find my conclusion non-traditional, non-threatening, and thought provoking. Furthermore, I am convinced that if you give my conclusion unbiased consideration, we will agree." Perkins stands alone for no-one has spoken about the same sex marriage rights issue this way before. And as this profile was being written, one questions whether anyone will be bold enough to ignite a national conversation about what Perkins calls, "the real problem." The Same Sex Marriage Rights Issue: The Issue Is Not The Problem gently challenges the faith-based community, gay-rights community, and government to add another perspective to the dialog with the hope that this information nugget bridges the communications gulf between the parties. No bashing gays. No trashing religions. Just another vantage point. In advance, thank you for buying the book. Read and reflect. Then share your thoughts at www.messagebyperkins.com.

The touching, humorous stories of a Kentucky childhood

The Global Humanities Reader is a collaboratively edited collection of primary sources with student-centered support features. It serves as the core curriculum of the University of North Carolina Asheville's almost-sixty-year-old interdisciplinary Humanities Program. Its three volumes--Engaging Ancient Worlds and Perspectives (Volume 1), Engaging Premodern Worlds and Perspectives (Volume 2), and Engaging Modern Worlds and Perspectives (Volume 3)--offer accessible ways to explore facets of human subjectivity and interconnectedness across cultures, times, and places. In highlighting the struggles and resilient strategies for surviving and thriving from multiple perspectives and positionalities, and through diverse voices, these volumes course correct from humanities textbooks that remain Western-centric. One of the main features of the The Global Humanities Reader is a sustained and nuanced focus on cultivating the ability to ask questions--to inquire--while enhancing culturally aware, reflective, and interdisciplinary engagements with the materials. The editorial team created a thoroughly interactive text with the following unique features that work together to actualize student success: * Cross-cultural historical introductions to each volume * Comprehensive and source-specific timelines highlighting periods, events, and people around the world * An introduction for each source with bolded key terms and questions to facilitate active engagement * Primed and Ready questions (PARs)--questions just before and after a reading that activate students' own knowledge and skills * Inquiry Corner--questions consisting of four types: Content, Comparative, Critical, and Connection * Beyond the Classroom--explore how ideas discussed in sources can apply to broader social contexts, such as job, career, project teams or professional communities * Glossary of Tags--topical 'hubs' that point to exciting new connections across multiple sources These volumes reflect the central role of Humanities in deepening an empathic understanding of human experience and cultivating culturally appropriate and community-centered problem-solving skills that help us flourish as global and local citizens.

For four decades, Knoxville, Tennessee, native David Madden has been writing compelling bestsellers, such as Bijou and The Suicide's Wife, as well as highly respected literary novels, such as Sharpshooter. David Madden: A Writer for All Genres is the first full-length critical work devoted to the whole of Madden's oeuvre, and collectively the essays make the case that the attention paid to Madden's novels has overshadowed his innovative work as a critic, poet, short-story writer, and dramatist. Madden is indeed a writer for all genres--poetry, fiction, drama, and criticism. Having compiled the volume to "help all readers understand Madden better," co-editors Randy Hendricks and James A. Perkins have assembled eight essays by various authors devoted to analyzing and understanding the legendary David Madden and how he spins his craft. The uniformly high caliber of the contributors is testimony to the interest Madden's work has generated. These include poet and fiction writer George Garrett on Madden's poetry; critic James H. Justus on Madden as a playwright; critic Jeffrey J. Folks on Madden's complex relationships with his home town and James Agee; Randy Hendricks on Madden's criticism; fiction writer Allen Wier on Madden's Civil War fiction; critic William Schafer on Madden's early novels; critic Aimee Berger on The Suicide's Wife; and poet and critic James Perkins on his short fiction. Their essays on Madden's work are augmented by a long interview with Madden and by an extensive selected bibliography. David Madden: A Writer for all Genres will introduce a new generation of readers to an important and multitalented writer and begin a well-deserved, serious discussion of his place in the American literary tradition.